Kimbanguism () is a para-Christian

new religious movement A new religious movement (NRM), also known as a new religion, is a religious or Spirituality, spiritual group that has modern origins and is peripheral to its society's dominant religious culture. NRMs can be novel in origin, or they can be part ...

professed by the

African initiated church An African-initiated church (AIC) is a Christian church independently started in Africa by Africans rather than chiefly by missionaries from another continent. Nomenclature A variety of overlapping terms exist for these forms of Christianity: ...

Jesus Christ's Church on Earth by his special envoy Simon Kimbangu (, EJCSK) founded by

Simon Kimbangu Simon Kimbangu (September 12, 1887 – October 12, 1951) was a Democratic Republic of Congo, Congolese religious leader who founded the Christianity, Christian new religious movement Kimbanguism. Kimbanguists consider him to be an incarnation of ...

in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (, ; ) was a Belgian colonial empire, Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960 and became the Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville). The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Repu ...

(today the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

) in 1921. A large, independent African-initiated church, it has an estimated 6 million believers and has its headquarters in Nkamba,

Kongo Central Kongo Central (), formerly Bas-Congo, is one of the 26 provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Its capital is Matadi. History At the time of independence, the area now encompassing Kongo Central was part of the greater province of ...

. The denomination became a member of the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

, the All Africa Conference of Churches, and the

Organization of African Instituted Churches The Organization of African Instituted Churches (OAIC) is a Christian ecumenical organization founded in 1978. It is a member of the World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organizati ...

. In June 2021, the World Council of Churches withdrew membership on doctrinal grounds.

History

In April 1921, Kimbangu, a

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

mission

catechist Catechesis (; from Greek language, Greek: , "instruction by word of mouth", generally "instruction") is basic Christian religious education of children and adults, often from a catechism book. It started as education of Conversion to Christia ...

, inaugurated a mass movement through his supposed miraculous healings and biblical teaching. His teachings attracted working people, who left jobs to hear him speak about liberation. This threatened the colonial labor structure and thus the Belgian regime. The Belgian authorities treated the faith with suspicion and imprisoned Kimbangu until his death in 1951. The church was formally recognised by the Belgian colonial authorities in 1959. Some smaller, more loosely organised groups in

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

regard Kimbangu as

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

Life and works of Kimbangu

According to the church, Kimbangu is said to have come down to Earth from

Mount Zion Mount Zion (, ''Har Ṣīyyōn''; , ''Jabal Sahyoun'') is a hill in Jerusalem, located just outside the walls of the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City to the south. The term Mount Zion has been used in the Hebrew Bible first for the City of David ( ...

as a Congolese infant. His father had been a traditional religious leader, but both parents died and Kimbangu was orphaned and put in the care of his maternal aunt. She took him to Baptist missionary school where he studied for many years, until he grew up and became a preacher. Some statisticians have estimated that the number of Kimbanguists to be thirty two million.

Beliefs and practices

The church eschews politics and embraces Puritan ethics, rejecting the use of violence,

polygamy Polygamy (from Late Greek , "state of marriage to many spouses") is the practice of marriage, marrying multiple spouses. When a man is married to more than one wife at the same time, it is called polygyny. When a woman is married to more tha ...

, magic and witchcraft,

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

, tobacco, and dancing. Its worship is

in form, though the

Eucharist The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an Ordinance (Christianity), ordinance in ...

was not introduced until 1971. The three key dates in the Kimbanguist calendar are 6 April (marking the date of the start of the ministry of healing), 25 May (marking

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a Religion, religious and Culture, cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by coun ...

, falling on the birthday of Father Dialungana), and 12 October (Kimbangu's death anniversary). The church is largely non-

sacrament A sacrament is a Christian rite which is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence, number and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol ...

al, with large services that are well-organised. The church also believes that Nkamba is the

New Jerusalem In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the capital of the ...

mentioned in the Bible. The church also believes that Kimbangu is the

Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit, otherwise known as the Holy Ghost, is a concept within the Abrahamic religions. In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is understood as the divine quality or force of God manifesting in the world, particularly in acts of prophecy, creati ...

, in accordance with John 14:15–17. Like many Christian groups, the Kimbanguists begin and end prayers with the

Trinitarian formula The Trinitarian formula is the phrase "in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit" (; ), or words to that form and effect, referring to the three persons of the Christian Trinity. It is often followed by an " amen". The T ...

. Alongside Kimbangu, the

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

are Father Kisolokele (first son of Kimbangu) as God the Father, Father Salomon Diangani Dialungana (the reincarnated

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

and second son of Kimbangu), Father Diangienda Kuntima (last son, reincarnation of Kimbangu and second human form of the Holy Spirit), and Father Simon Kimbangu Kiangani (grandson of Kimbangu, third human form of the Holy Spirit, and current spiritual leader of the church since 2001). The doctrinal status given by this church to Kimbangu has led to international controversy as contrary to the doctrine of the Trinity and therefore heretical. In 2021 the church’s membership in the

(WCC) was discontinued by the Central Committee of the WCC on theological grounds.

Hierarchy

*The spiritual head (Diangienda) *Adjunct spiritual heads (Dialungana and Kisolokele – the other sons of Simon Kimbangu) *Bansadisi (healers) *Legal representatives of churches in the various countries *Regional representatives and their staffs *Subregional representatives and their staffs *Main parish ministers, evangelists and helpers *Parish-section ministers, evangelists and helpers *Congregants

References

External links

Official Website (mostly in French, some German)

Orchestre Symphonique Kimbanguiste (in French)

Kimbangu resource (in French)
{{Authority control African initiated churches Christian organizations established in 1921 Christian denominations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 1921 establishments in the Belgian Congo Members of the World Council of Churches All Africa Conference of Churches Christian new religious movements